So after tolerating ‘bold’ and ‘beautiful’ soaps and serials on television for some time, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), often viewed as a moral watchdog, finally decided it was time to shower some big brotherly love on a foreign channel. It slapped a two-month ban on Sony satellite channel AXN for ‘outraging public morality’ with its programme World’s Sexiest Advertisements. “It was a very regressive step by the Government, especially since the programme was aired after 11pm. It is not a corrective measure, but done to appeal to self-proclaimed purists,” says noted Indian filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt.
Surprisingly, the foreign channels have sheepishly caved in to the Government diktat and are letting the law of the land take its course. AXN swiftly apologised to the Government of India and has promised to redress its self-regulatory system, while HBO promptly submitted its movies for certification as mandated by a High Court judgment in 2006, a move that itself followed the recent blackout of channels in Mumbai by cable operators. Industry players feel that the AXN ban is an isolated event and should only have a short-term impact on the channel’s revenues.
“Consumers are mature enough to understand that unless a channel shows overtly obscene or vulgar shows, bans are likely to be temporary,” says Ravi Kiran, CEO, South Asia, Starcom MediaVest Group.
However, he cautions that if a channel stays off air for a long time, advertisers are likely to be concerned about risking their money on the channel. “Advertisers also understand market conditions and are sensitive to policy changes and government regulations,” says Shruti Bajpai, country manager of HBO Asia.
Self-regulation has had a poor track record in India and, unlike the Office of Communications of the UK or the Federal Communications Commission in the US, no agency in India is officially empowered to take action against objectionable content on TV. “If the regulations around a particular kind of content are not clear and the Government machinery appears to act irrationally, the channel must raise public opinion and seek judiciary intervention,” says Kiran, who feels regulatory ambiguity is one of the biggest challenges faced by foreign media in India.
The broadcast bill, expected to be passed sometime this year, will hopefully resolve issues about censorship and permissible content. Until then or until an independent regulatory authority is set up, channels should not stop taking risks, Kiran believes: “Playing it safe will make TV very boring.”
According to Ashish Kaul, senior VP of corporate brand management at Zee Network and Essel Group, the issues reflect a lack of market understanding — foreign media are often misled into believing that India resides in Mumbai. “One must never attempt to force international formats but try to ‘Indianise’ them.”
